Chapter 202 - 143: Human Relationships are as Thin as Paper

Chapter 202: Chapter 143: Human Relationships are as Thin as Paper

Xia Lianxue suddenly awoke from her meditation.

She frowned.

’Something seems to have happened.’

It was a strange feeling... not heart palpitations, but something else, something she couldn’t quite place. It was like she had just managed to ladle a bowl of plain congee for breakfast, only for someone to get there first and take a sip right before she could—and it wasn’t even the Young Master!

The congee wasn’t finished—they’d even left half a bowl for her—but it was just a bit... unsettling. That was the sort of subtle feeling it was.

’What in the world happened?’ The Little Fairy in a White Skirt got up and walked out of the main hall of Miao Yu Palace.

"Did something happen to the Young Master? Senior Sis—"

Only then did Xia Lianxue remember that Qiu Yuehan wasn’t with her, so she had no way of knowing Lu Changyuan’s general situation.

’Forget it.’

’The Young Master will definitely be fine. What could possibly happen on Celestial Mountain?’

Xia Lianxue cupped her cheeks and looked up at the sky. Goose-feather snow fell in sheets, dyeing Miao Yu Palace white.

"I wonder what Senior Sister and the Young Master are doing right now?"

’Maybe I should just stop cultivating and go back to Celestial Mountain.’

’The Sixth Realm is enough. Besides, the Young Master can solve any problem that comes up. I could just be a clueless, carefree, happy little good-for-nothing.’

"No!"

The Little Fairy in a White Skirt patted her cheeks. She still had to find a way to return to the Seventh Realm. The Time Dao was simply too difficult to cultivate, and re-cultivating it was even harder.

"Whatever."

Xia Lianxue collected herself and resumed her meditation.

But this time, as she entered meditation, her thoughts drifted back to over a decade ago, back when she was still a child in this life.

Han Shui Master had brought her back to the Sect. Her talent was superb, her progress astonishing. Within the Sect, aside from her Senior Sister, no one could last more than three moves against her.

She had a gentle temperament and was kind to the other sect disciples. Compared to the ice-cold Qiu Yuehan, others actually preferred to gather around her, treating her as the head senior sister.

Only Xia Lianxue knew that it didn’t matter who was the head senior sister. If she cultivated with the goal of becoming the head senior sister, she would never be able to defeat her Senior Sister in the future.

After all, her Senior Sister had eyes only for the sword.

Later, the Little Fairy in a White Skirt took a liking to practicing her sword by the lake. One day, a junior sister from the sect brought her some fruit. Xia Lianxue accepted it with a smile, but because she was so focused on the "Fish Swimming in Lotus Dew" technique, she lost track of the hour and never got around to eating it.

As she was preparing to return to her chambers from the lakeside, she was suddenly struck by the beautiful moonlight and decided to walk up the mountain. She had intended to eat the fruit while admiring the moon, but unexpectedly, she happened upon Qiu Yuehan, who was sitting on a rock halfway up the mountain in meditation.

Xia Lianxue approached her. Miao Yu Palace’s top disciple didn’t push her away, but simply watched her without speaking.

"I just came here to enjoy the moon. The junior sisters gave me some fruit. Why don’t you have some with me, Senior Sister?"

The Fairy happened to have fruit in her hands, so she shared some with Qiu Yuehan. Unexpectedly, Qiu Yuehan didn’t refuse, but just nodded with a somewhat dazed look.

It was because of that fruit that Qiu Yuehan, when faced with Hanyi Master’s claim that Xia Lianxue was harboring ill intentions, found the courage to speak up and refute it.

The White Skirt Fairy pulled herself from the memory and smiled. "What’s all this... ’Skip a day of practice, and you know. Skip seven days, and the sect knows. Skip a month, and your enemies know. Skip a year, and your grave knows.’ She’s gotten lazy now, too."

She’d seen it on Celestial Mountain. The icy Fairy who used to practice her sword from dawn till dusk had now learned to slack off as well.

But she had no idea.

That cold-hearted Senior Sister of hers wasn’t slacking off at all; she was planning to use Xia Lianxue’s man to teach her about the Red Dust, all so she could resume her sword practice anew.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A figure in black and white Daoist robes slowly materialized in the air.

Not long after the Blood Dragon departed, the Daoist Sect Master appeared above Blood Demon Island. She gazed down at the chaotic mess that was the Blood Demon Palace.

"The aura of the Killing Dao. My dear Master, you’ve finally shown your face."

Her gaze swept over every inch of the Inner Blood Demon Island, scanning it seven or eight times. She frowned, but then quickly smiled.

"Gone? Where could you possibly go? Not even I can divine your whereabouts. Dear Master, why are you hiding from your own disciple?"

A three-foot, six-inch Glazed Sword appeared in the Daoist Sect Master’s hand.

"Although my dear Master most likely didn’t suffer any losses, the fact that he was forced to use such an ability suggests you all did something unpleasant. As his disciple, I must preserve my Master’s dignity."

The number one under the heavens raised the sword in her hand.

The sword struck.

It was like paper slicing through wind.

Compared to the unstoppable sharpness of the Red-clothed Sword Immortal that could cut through anything, the Daoist Sect Master’s sword was more like a Law. Beneath it, everything simply crumbled.

The Inner Blood Demon Island was already cracking, and the Palace Defense Array was on its last legs. The Daoist Sect Master’s strike became the final carriage of iron blocks that broke the camel’s back.

BOOM!

The Grand Array shattered again. This time, its foundation was truly broken. It could no longer be patched up; it could only be rebuilt by exhausting the Sect’s entire reserves.

"Hah. I haven’t settled the score with the Glazed Dynasty yet. Might as well settle it all at once!"

The Daoist Sect Master’s figure turned and vanished into the air.

Following her scornful scoff, something even more terrifying happened.

Along a central line, the Blood Demon Palace’s Inner Island was completely split in two. Monstrous waves surged up from the seabed to cover it, and the surrounding ring of Outer Islands began to break apart directly.

"Who?! Who was that?!"

Terrified cries rang out from the islands, but the sky was already empty.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"My, how terrifying! Good thing I’m a fast runner, hee hee."

Further away, Mei Zhaozhao stood on her tiptoes, watching the unfolding scene at the Blood Demon Palace.

She had been about to run farther away, but then she suddenly saw two dragons fighting.

Mei Zhaozhao considered whether this might be the only chance in her life to see dragons fight, and then decisively stayed to watch the show.

So she witnessed the whole thing: the Blood Dragon thrashing the Black Dragon before making a flamboyant departure.

"How is Physician Lu so strong? It’s a good thing I didn’t make an enemy of him."

Mei Zhaozhao was quite pleased with her own cleverness. "Time to go... huh?"

Since she was still near the shore, Mei Zhaozhao saw her reflection in the water as she started to leave.

"Huh???"

She walked toward the water’s edge and only then discovered that her black robe had been pushed open at some point, revealing her devastatingly beautiful face and... a pair of fox ears.

A pair of fox ears?!

"Eek!?"

Mei Zhaozhao shrieked.

She slapped the water, muddying her reflection, then rubbed her eyes and stared at the surface as it grew calm again.

The water’s surface once again reflected her image.

It was no use. The ears were still there.

"Ears! Where did these ears come from!"

Mei Zhaozhao reached up to her head in disbelief and sure enough, she felt a pair of soft, fluffy, red fox ears. She gasped again, then felt her rear. Something seemed to be growing there, too.

’It’s not a fox tail, is it?’

Mei Zhaozhao felt like the sky was falling. She rubbed her ears forcefully, but they didn’t disappear, and she could even feel pain.

"Haha, let the world burn. I’m tired."